Getting baby to stay up later at night

So, DS last night tapped out at 745PM!! No surprise he woke at 3AM. I try to keep the little man up later but he wants know part of it.

Any tips on getting your little ones to stay up a little later so they sleep in later?

mind you, he takes a 20 min nap around 530pmish.

He's 4 mos old. Thanks!

Message edited 5/18/2009 11:15:28 AM.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Maybe try a nighttime bath? I know at that age I would give DD a bath before bed and it kept her up a little longer.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Yea, I should do that. I normally bathe him after he eats (since he's a mess) at around 715PM, but maybe I'll let him sit messy for a while and bathe him at 8PMish.

Thanks!

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

This may sound wierd, but for us putting DS to bed earlier is when he started sleeping longer. He had been going to sleep at 9PM, we moved that to 7PM and he started sleeping through the night.


....that was until we started solid food, now he is getting up once a nigth again

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Anthony takes a nap at @ 6:30 I wake him up at @ 8:30 and then he goes to bed at 10pm.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

DS USED to sleep through the night, but now wakes up once a night.

PED said not to feed him, just pat him until he goes to bed. Tried last night, DS wanted no part of it.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Try extending the bedtime by 10 or 15 minutes intervals every few night until you get to your desired bedtime. This is what we did with Eddie. I would also dream feed him like 2 ounces before I went to bed or before he went to bed, depending on the night so he was less likely to get hungry in the middle of the night. Good luck!

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

My kids go to bed at 6:45. They wake up twice to eat around 11:30 and again around 3 ish. I have tried to keep them up later and they are miserable. I would adjust his naps rather than keep him up later

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

if i tried to keep DS up later he would be a cranky crying mess. he has always had an early bedtime and gradually started sleeping later and later. plus if he didn't sleep well at night he was a grouch the next day.

honestly i would feel so guilty keeping him up just so i could sleep later in the morning

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

I would try putting him to bed earlier rather than later. Sleep begets sleep. He may be waking up from being overtired.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

According to the Healthy Sleep habits book- the earlier the bedtime the better. Try an ealrier bedtime and see what happens. HSHHC recommends anywhere between 6-7pm.

On nights that Madelyn is put to bed late, she ALWAYS sleeps fitfully and wakes up at some point. We have found that 6:30pm is perfect for her. Its sucks during the summer when everyone is outside playing and we're putting her down, but it really is what keeps her on a good sleep schedule.

During the winter- she was going to sleep at 5:30 for awhile- and sleeping through til 6am!

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Posted by NinaLemon

This may sound wierd, but for us putting DS to bed earlier is when he started sleeping longer. He had been going to sleep at 9PM, we moved that to 7PM and he started sleeping through the night.


....that was until we started solid food, now he is getting up once a nigth again

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Message edited 5/18/2009 6:34:05 PM.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Posted by Diana1215

Posted by Porrruss

According to the Healthy Sleep habits book- the earlier the bedtime the better. Try an ealrier bedtime and see what happens. HSHHC recommends anywhere between 6-7pm.

On nights that Madelyn is put to bed late, she ALWAYS sleeps fitfully and wakes up at some point. We have found that 6:30pm is perfect for her. Its sucks during the summer when everyone is outside playing and we're putting her down, but it really is what keeps her on a good sleep schedule.

During the winter- she was going to sleep at 5:30 for awhile- and sleeping through til 6am!

Jack's bedtime for the first 18 months of his life was 6:30. Actually from 4months-18months!

ETA: Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? If not, I would highly recommend it!

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Our bedtime routine usually starts at 6:30, and they are down by 7:30. They don't sleep through the night yet, but I can't imagine trying to keep them up later. They are so ready to sleep, they would be miserable if we kept them up.

Not to mention, an earlier bedtime gives DH and I some time to eat dinner, relax, and have some alone time.

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

My DD started going through a stretch of that around 5 months...she was rising each day at 445 and wow, i was beat...i tried earlier, later etc...nothing made a difference...so, i gave in, and now, she is out between 645-730 and sleeps until 545-6 and that is a heck of a lot better, plus she is waking at night 2 times sometimes...teething will do that too...i give her a bottle when she just cant go back down and other times, she gets herself back to sleep...honestly, they go through spurts of things and i let her go when she needs it

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

Re: Getting baby to stay up later at night

I read Healthy Sleep Habits , Happy Baby and I highly recommend it.

Basically, the more the baby sleeps, well, the more he will sleep. Meaning, making sure he is napping when he should be and going to bed when he should be - he will end up sleeping more. If a child is deprived of sleep, they are running on adrenaline and sleep less overall.